Tiny Titans: Return To The Treehouse #1 (Of 6) Review

Baltazar and Franco are back in the Tiny DCU, and frankly, I couldn’t be more thrilled. But what happens when a couple of bad kids steal the Titans Treehouse? Also. HOW? Your Major Spoilers review of Tiny Titans: Return To The Treehouse #1 awaits!

Previously in Tiny Titans: Return To The Treehouse: There have been a great many Teen Titans over the team’s fifty-year history, including more than one Batgirl, a couple of different Wonder Girls, Blue Beetle, Static, Jericho and more. The Tiny Titans have similar numbers, but have the added advantage of being tiny children (and not having repeated tragedies leading to dead member after dead member.) Their original book ended a couple of years ago, but now the Tiny Titans are back in their treehouse for all new adventures with the original team, but can they keep the same level of strangeness and charm? And, will Cyborg get to say ‘Booyah’?

SUPERBOY *AND* SUPERGIRL

Sometimes, comics make me feel old by rehashing the same plots and villains over and over, or by insulting my intelligence with ridiculous bits of story. This book makes me feel old in the best possible way, opening as it does with Superboy (implicitly Kon-El) and Supergirl flying to Titans Treehouse to share their cool adventures with their friends. Streaky and Krypto are with them, and I can’t tell you how weird it is to be inexplicably happy about seeing The Metropolis Kid in action. Of course, the writers give me a second shot of the same only a couple of pages later, as Brainiac 5 and Psimon wander past, trying to find something to shrink for the next meeting of the Brainiac Club. It’s a silly bit, but it quickly leads to Raven, Terra and Beast Boy being shrunken down with their home, and Superboy & Girl heading out to find the world’s greatest kid detective: ROBIN! I enjoy the fact that these stories are free, for the most part, from continuity, but little touches like the Changeling/Terra romance endure, as well as the cartoon-derived partnership of Krypton and Ace The Bat-Hound (who enjoy a little rock and roll as much as the next couple of super-dogs.)

SWAMP THING CAMEO!!

The Super-Team Family and Boy Wonder’s quest for a tree leads them throughout the DC Neighborhood, encountering the Swamp Thing, Metamorpho (whose right leg was traditionally made of wood, you may recall) and finally finding the young Brainiacs. Things get weird, then get funny, and end with a touching moment from Alfred that turns into the last joke. Baltazar’s art is as cute as always, and the character assortment on the cover fills me with hope that we might see Cyborg, Kid Flash and the rest in action again. Since most of the characters are utterly different in the new continuity, it’s nice to see a reference to what has come before that doesn’t come in the form of a direct insult about “fanboys hating change.” There’s a lot of fun stuff to be had in these pages, and even if you’ve never read any Tiny Titans material, it makes for an entertaining read, though I’m somewhat disappointed to find that the book is only committed for a six-issue miniseries, since DC’s monthly publishing schedules have an awful lot of room for things that aren’t grimdark and filled with executions and dismemberment.

THE BOTTOM LINE:STILL WITH THE ‘AW, YEAH!’

In short, I’m a fan of this book, and I’m glad to see it’s back. All-ages doesn’t have to mean kids’ stuff, and this book appeals to the old-school nerd in me as much as the child (though they tend to both hang out and eat frozen pizza while watching ‘Gilligan’s Island’). In short, Tiny Titans: Return To The Treehouse #1 is a fun book, and one that I recommend to those who aren’t afraid to read a story that dares to be silly and fun rather than plumbing the depths of misery, and the kids earn a very solid 3.5 out of 5 stars overall.

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The Author

Matthew Peterson

Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture!